


Ink Runs a Vape Shop and Error's a Good Christian Boy

by Parspicle



Category: ErrorTale - Fandom, Inktale - Fandom, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Blue is Pan, Dream owns a coffee shop, Error almost destroys his entire fucking house because, Error gets three cats because fuck you, Error runs a christian bookstore, Gay panic., Head-desking, Ink meets god, Ink runs a vape shop, Kinda?, M/M, Multichapter, Nightmare's ace, Oh no Im gay, Plus he needs emotional support., Swearing, Vape shop/Christian bookstore au, and you can't change my mind, twice, uh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-08
Updated: 2019-11-29
Packaged: 2020-02-28 08:39:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18752863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Parspicle/pseuds/Parspicle
Summary: Ink runs a vape shop. Today's the day a new bookstore is opening right next to his shop. It's a Christian Bookstore, and Ink's excited to see what kind of old white lady he can piss off today. Little does he know, none of those words would fit the description of the guy running the place.





	1. The Start Of The Show

It was a normal day, just like any other. However, there was a new, exciting thing happening that Ink found _hilarious_.

There was a Christian bookstore opening right next to the vape shop he ran. A _Christian bookstore._

Ink couldn’t contain his excitement. Not only did new stores bring _tons_ of weirdos to his already weird-enough regulars list, it was a _Christian_ store. Which meant, according to Twitter, that it would bring even _more_ weird people.

Honestly, he mostly ran this shop because he was just curious about people. Retail’s wild to him. I mean, most of his customers were pretty normal- you’d never really guess they’d vape type of normal.

Then there were some of his _favorite_ customers. The type of person that you would be surprised if you found out they vaped. The type of person to yell when they don’t get their way. They had obviously never worked retail, and probably never will.

Most were rich. Some were the type to have kids, some weren’t. There was no real way to describe the entire group as a whole. Some were humans. A lot of them, Ink didn’t really know. They _looked_ human, but you really can’t ever tell in that industry. A lot of them were probably gods.

There was a lot of variety in his customers, actually. Gods, humans, everything in between- Men, women, everything in between and beyond, too.

The ringing of the door hitting the bell distracted him from his thoughts.

“Hello? Anyone here?”

Ink popped his head up, getting on his toes to see who walked in.

“Hi, Blue!”

It was one of the workers he had hired thus far. 

He was an average-height guy- he had blue eyes with little yellow stars when he got excited. Ink didn’t know how the _hell_ he convinced his older brother to let him work here, honestly. The kid didn’t vape- his older brother did, however.

He was one hundred percent sure, however, that Blue was, in fact, a god. Or Satan. It didn’t really matter to him.

It might have slightly.

Ink should stop calling Blue a kid, honestly. Not only was Blue taller, but he was also only about a year younger.

However, he was treated like a kid by a lot of people. He also had a babyface. And small hands.

So, Ink would continue to call him a kid anyway.

“Hi, Ink!” Was Blue’s response as he made his way to the employee area to get ready for his shift.

As soon as he got out back into the actual store part, he got to meet his boss’s inexplicable (to him) excitement.

“Blue, holy fuck- did you SEE what fuckin OPENED next to here?? I mean holy HELL-“

“Ok, Ink, calm down- I didn’t! What opened?”

“Blue, oh my god, a fucking _Christian bookstore_ opened.”

“Oh my god.”

“YEAH.”

“I **_desperately_** have to see what type of old white woman runs that, okay? I just _have_ to.”

Blue snorted. “Of course you do! You’re going to go over there and introduce yourself, right?”

“Obviously!”

“Right. I’ll hold down the fort.”

 

Ink was looking forward to this. A lot. He practically skipped down the street. He liked old ladies, especially ones that will obviously hate him, seeing as he was a gay son of two gay men, and not exactly the most white person. Also, he had weird skin- having parts of it have no pigment at all- and a LOT of tattoos, as well as several piercings.

Not only did his appearance make him an enemy with many, but he also had an accent. And, his experience, a lot of the old ladies absolutely hated it.

So, obviously, he was excited.

He’d get to torture an old lady for a couple of weeks before she moved her business elsewhere, or decide to change her stupid, extremist views.

That wasn’t the only thing that could happen, though.

A lot of things could happen! So Ink was enthusiastic.

The sight he saw, however, was probably one of the last things Ink had expected.

Sitting at the cashier's desk, and the only other person in the store, was a kind-looking, sort of regal guy. He looked around Ink’s age. He had his hair (which was dyed _bright red_ ) in dreads that were held up in a ponytail, having it reach his shoulders even while tied up. He had cherry-colored (almost the same as his hair), round glasses on. He sat with his elbows on the desk in front of him, holding a book up, hiding the upper part of his face.

The worst part was, to Ink, he was one of the greatest-looking guys he’d ever seen.

Ink stumbled through the door, honestly. He was caught off guard by the guy.

When Ink ever so _gracefully_ fell through the door, he looked up, the reflection of his glasses hitting Ink’s eyes.

Eyes, that’s what he saw!

Good god, this man’s eyes were _beautiful_.

They, unlike most of his outfit, were a lighter, pastel color. They _shone_ like _gold-_ like golden glitter at dark parties, like a wedding ring straight out of the box, ready to be given to a beloved.

And Ink could barely stop staring and gaping at the guy in front of him.

He scowled slightly and sighed, instantly recognizing Ink as _that_ type of person. But, alas, he had no choice but to be nice. It _was_ his first customer.

Ink, of course, couldn’t stop obsessing about the guy’s eyes. So, the best course of action in Ink’s mind was to go up to him and say hi, explaining that he ran the shop next door, and he’d hope to see him around, etc, etc. And then, he spoke.

“Hello there. Welcome.”

He went back to his book.

Ink could have ascended right there and then.

This was unfair!

Not only was this guy the hottest one he’d seen in _months,_  buthe also had a deep, melodic, gentle voice? Out of his league AND most likely _not_ gay? What the hell, God? How could you fucking do this to him?

Ink shook off his nerves. He went up to the counter, holding his hand out to shake.

“Hiya! I’m Ink, I run the shop next door!”

He didn’t bother specifying which one, because, most likely, he would assume right.

“Ah… The vape shop?”

“Yep!”

The guy didn’t bother looking up from his book the whole time. The book was coverless, so Ink couldn’t exactly tell what it was.

“Well, good to know. I’m Error.”

Ink nodded politely, then started backing up. “Well, goodbye! I hope to see you again soon!”

He lightly slapped himself on the forehead as he walked out, trying to hide his blushing face. As soon as he got out of view of the windows, he stopped walking and ran. Which, granted, was only a few steps.

He burst into the shop, only one customer in the back. He ran up to Nightmare (the other worker, who had arrived while Ink was meeting Error) who was at the cashier’s desk while Blue was supposedly keeping track of the cameras to make sure nothing was shoplifted. He was shorter than Ink, but also a little older. He had jet-black hair, violet eyes, and he wore the same colors nearly every day- Violet, black, with a little bit of gold here and there.

Ink, frantically, tried to fan his own blushing face as he whisper-screamed.

_“Nightmare, he’s really, really fucking hot.”_

His friend blinked. “What?”

“The person who runs the bookstore. He’s _hot.”_

“Are you okay?”

“Yes! I mean- ugh- no! He’s really hot. He had _dreads and glasses_. His eyes are _beautiful,_ Blue! They’re _gold!_ ”

“Oh, the three things that make you fall in love with a dude? His hair, his ability to see, and the color of his eyes.”

“Nightmare!”

He snorted. “Ok, ok, I get it. What’s his name?”

“His name is Error. And I think he's the most alluring guy I've met in years."


	2. TL;DR: They Reference Vines and Error Gets Three Cats.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ok, the title says it all, but also, he's had the cats the whole time.   
> I swear like over half of this chapter is just Nightmare and Blue referencing vines and making fun of Ink.

Nightmare had to hold back his laughter.

“I’m sorry, _what?_ Repeat that again?”

_“Damnit, Nightmare, he’s really fucking hot- His name is Error.”_

Nightmare burst out in laughter.

“Holy shit, Ink, _you’re_ in love with a _Christian bookstore owner_? Who’s most likely straight? And named _Error?!_ Who’s only supposedly hot?”

“Yes! Stop making fun of me, Night!”

“Oh my god, dude, this is going to turn out _terribly_.”

“Do you think I don’t know that?! I could fire you if I wanted to-“

“But’cha didn’t!”

Ink’s face landed on the counter after Nightmare fucking _referenced_ a _vine_ in _Ink’s goddamn store._

For the third time this week.

“God fucking damnit, Night…”

Nightmare snorted, leaning on his hand. “What? It’s not like Blue references vines _all_ the time.”

As if on queue, Blueberry came running up, hearing Ink and Nightmare from nearby.

“And they were _street mates_.”

“Oh my god, they were _street mates_.”

“Guys, what the hell, that doesn’t even WORK.”

“Yes, it does.”

“Of course it does.”

“Oh my god, why did I hire you?”

“That’s a good question!”

“Especially on Blue’s part.”

Ink sighed and slammed his head into the counter again.

In turn, Nightmare laughed again and Blue snickered along while Ink was there, internally screaming.

Next door, however, there was someone who was having almost as extreme as a reaction.

 

Error didn’t know him that well. He only knew his name. Ink.

But he _hated_ him.

He was everythingError hated. Everything that he opposed. Everything he was _taught_ to hate. Every single thing that Error just… despised. Tattooed, flamboyant, pierced.

And in spite of all that, he was… kind.

Error couldn’t understand. He was taught that people like that were evil. They disfigured their own bodies, went against what was _right_ , and he had the _audacity_ to be _friendly?!_

How… how _dare_ he?

How could he come into _Error’s_ store and look all _innocent_?!

Error, beyond a doubt, was _livid._

He didn’t look it, for sure, but what was he to do? He _had_ to keep composure, especially on the first day. It would be bad for business, wouldn’t it?

Needless to say, when Error was going to get home, he would definitely tear apart at least one pillow. Probably an entire bed. Or his entire room.

Or, perhaps, his entire apartment.

Not only that, but he’ll also screech. A lot.

Today was too stressful.

_Way_ too stressful.

Error might even have to schedule therapy sooner.

And it was all Ink’s damn fault!

How could he just… walk in like he owns the place? Sure, he did look great, but…

Oh no.

Now, Error decided it really _was_ time for him to panic.

Did he really think that Ink looked great? Of course, he didn’t, right? There’s no way he could. He liked girls. And girls only, right?

Right. Obviously! There was no other option! Error _couldn’t_   _ **like**_ him. It was impossible!

Or… was it.

Well, all Error knew was that it wasn’t right.

And that he hated Ink.

And that Ink was wrong.

 

Ink, on the other hand, did _not_ know that what he was feeling was- in Error’s eyes- wrong. It was _normal_. It was just like anyone else’s attraction.

It didn’t make sense to him that someone would be raised to believe the opposite. Attraction was an _attraction_. You can't control that. People could feel attraction to people regardless of gender- like Blue- or feel no (sexual) attraction to people regardless of gender- like Nightmare, though he did show romantic attraction to at least _one_ of the regulars. Ace, Aro, pan, gay, bi, straight, all of those made sense to Ink.

Even the gender thing- people could be all of them, none, two, or something outside of the norm entirely.

Didn’t matter to Ink, really. As long as you were hot- which, to Ink, were mostly men- then you were hot. Does that make sense?

He didn’t get why it wouldn’t make sense to others.

He couldn’t control who was hot!

But damnit, why did all the people he was attracted to _all_ have to be either out of his league or not attracted to him back.

Or worse,

Run a bookshop that basically said “fuck you” to his entire identity.

Ink ended up slamming his head into the counter multiple times that day.

Not all of them were accidents.

Most of them were.

Maybe.

He also fell asleep like halfway through the day. Nightmare had to gently and slowly push him off the counter until he fell and woke up to see Blue recording the whole thing.

Assholes, both of them!

Oh well, what could he do about it?

Fire them? No, then he’d have to work by himself. And listening to Ink was _not_ something anyone else would want to do all day, even himself.

I mean, especially not himself!

Okay, actually, back to the plot. Time to stop paying attention to Ink’s mental insanities. Which there were a lot of.

Blue snapped in front of Ink’s eyes again. He was staring off into space for the third time in the past hour.

“God, Nightmare, I think this is it. He’s really not responding this time.”

“Does this mean I can cover his office in sticky notes that say ‘watch Jojo’?”

“Nightmare if you do that I will _actually fucking kill you._ ”

“Oh, hey, that worked! I didn’t actually think it was going to work.”

“I mean, I was gonna start referencing more vines.”

“ _Why the hell did I hire you two?_ ”

The two employees laughed again.

“Good question!”

“What time is it? Time to close yet?”

Nightmare checked. “Around 3.”

“And we close around 6, right?”

“Ink, you literally fucking run this shop.”

“I know. What’s the fucking answer, Nightmare?”

“Yep.”

“Three hours left. Of suffering through the fact that I fell in love again. But this time with a _Christian bookstore_ _owner_.”

“You might wanna text your dads about that.”

“That's a good idea. Wait- aren’t you two supposed to be doing your jobs?”

“We’d rather stay here and annoy you.”

“Yeah, Nightmare’s right! Plus, Ink,” Blue shot a smile at the store owner. “Love… Is a baked sweet potato.”

“Why do I pay you.”

“Because we actually help you?”

“Good point! However, I’m going to bite directly into a lemon without peeling it when I get home because you two cause me so much fucking suffering.”

“Oh, cool, me too.”

“Nightmare, Ink, hey, question. Just a tiny question.”

They both responded in unison. “What?”

“What the _actual hell_.”

Ink had to get his emotions out somehow. When Blue said this, Ink just burst out in laughter. He couldn’t handle it. He just laughed. He cried a bit.

Nightmare and Blue laughed along for a bit, but after a while, they got concerned.

Ink eventually stopped.

Eventually.

It took a little while. Blue had to push him gently behind the counter and take over for him for a while.

Ink recovered.

 

Error didn’t.

Error went home after a long day and, much like what he predicted, tore at least one pillow apart.

His cat came in while he was trying to tear through the second one.

Fofo jumped up onto Error’s lap and mewed. He mewed and mewed until he stopped trying to destroy things and would just pet the cat instead.

And it worked.

Fofo eventually calmed Error down.

And, in turn, Error pet his oldest cat and cried.

As he cried, his two other cats came in and made him lie down. They sat on him and purred. They made him calm down and get his mind off of things.

They were good cats.

The best.

 

Ink went home that night and didn’t cry. Somehow. He just went home, went on a walk, and called his parents.

He explained what happened. They listened. They responded with empathy and kindness. They’d grown used to this pattern Ink has. Fall in love, realize its unrequited, then fall into despair for weeks. Then it’d repeat.

Would he do the same thing this time?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> side note: both this chapter and the last one were 1,338 words and I'm so happy it ended up so perfectly.


	3. Another Normal Day.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Error's late, Ink's on time, finally, and Nightmare gets to enjoy the show. At the end, they realize something big.

Error woke up with his cats on his face. Well, one of his cats. The other two were on his chest.

“Fofo, get off.”

His words were muffled as his fluffy cryptid of a cat continued to purr, rubbing his tiny, soft face all over Error’s cheek.

“Fofo!”

Error tried rolling to get the cats off. Mainly Fofo.

It didn’t work. As soon as he stopped, the cats got back onto him, doing the little happy feet thing on his sides. Which tickled. A lot. However, Fofo did get off. That was win.

“Kitties, I love you, but get _off of me.”_

The cats continued to purr.

“Off!”

The cats purred louder. It was beginning to sound like an earthquake. Error’s own personal earthquake. Made of cats.

Error sighed loudly. Then, he sneezed.

That worked! The cats, at the sound of his dad-like sneeze, got spooked off of their living bed, and onto the actual bed.

“Well, I guess that worked.”

What was he still doing, still talking to himself? Error checked the clock.

7:40.

His shop was to be opened at 8:00.

Error processed. Then he got out of bed, running, spitting out some sort-of curse words. Mind you, he wasn’t using _the Lord's name in vain,_ obviously, but he was saying some things that he _normally_ wouldn’t say.

He quickly pulled on the vest he had chosen for the day, trying to make sure his tie was on straight, fixing his hair, etc, etc, all while running out of his apartment.

Then, he realized.

He forgot to feed his cats.

He could afford to be a few minutes late, right?

 

Ink was opening his own shop when he noticed that the “good Christian boy” wasn’t there yet.

Weird. Yesterday he had opened _earlier_ than Ink. And Ink was. Normally on time.

Sometimes.

Never.

He was almost never on time. He was always at least a few seconds late. Well, not today. He was too excited to go out and see Error today.

He’d left Nightmare and Blue standing outside in the rain for ten minutes once.

He would never hear the end of that.

He was too tired for this. One of his neighbors was crying last night which, while it was normal, he just… had to pity the sound. They sounded so… lost. And lonely. Like a kitten lost in the forest.

Nightmare came up behind him while he was lost in his thoughts.

“Boo!”

Ink screeched.

“Damnit, Nightmare!! Stop doing that!!”

Nightmare laughed meanly. “I’m sorry, your reaction is always _hilarious_.”

“Shut up...”

“Nope! What are you thinking about now? Why haven’t you opened yet? You actually got up on time today! And got here on time! You should really give me keys sometime.”

“Uh, hold on, give me a second to process the first two questions, but no, you can’t have keys. Blue has keys. If you open, both of you open together.”

“Oh come on, you act like you don’t trust me!”

“Give me a reason I should!”

“Because I’ve been working for you for about as long as Blue?”

“Damnit, that’s a good point.”

“Yep! Now give me a set of keys, damnit, I- most often- get here earlier than you do. Do you _want_ Blue and I to be stuck in the rain again?!”

“I said I was sorry!”

“Okay, fine. I’m curious about why you were staying outside instead of going in.”

“Fine.” Ink motioned helplessly to the neighboring store, blushing slightly.

“Oh, that Christian dude?”

“Yes! His store opens at 8:00- it’s like 7:59- and he’s not in there.”

“Maybe he’s already there? Why do you even care? It’s _his_ store. Maybe he wanted to start later.”

“He got here _before_ me yesterday!”

Nightmare snorted.

“Ink, you say that like it's a huge, huge revelation. A lot of store owners open- and get there- before you.”

“Shut up!!”

“Though, I do admit it’s weird he’s not here.”

“See?!”

“But, not weird enough for you to freak out about it. Maybe he’s just running a little late.”

“Maybe. But why would he be late? He seems like the type of guy to be on time to _everything_.”

“Yeah. But okay, just go in. Please. It’s both too bright and too dark at the same time.”

“Fine.” Ink unlocked the door and let both himself and Nightmare in.

At that point, Error came running. He ran to his store. Well, walked fast. Very fast.

That counted as running, right?

Ink stared for a second, seeing Error’s vest being a bit messed up. He also spots a _lot_ of cat fur on his pants.

“Huh. Does he have cats?”

Nightmare grabbed Ink, who he was staring at because he was talking to himself, by the shirt and dragged him into the store.

“Come on, Ink, we have to open. Stop staring at your dream boyfriend.”

“Fine.”

Most of the rest of the day went normally. They got a couple customers- Ink had to yell at one for a couple reasons: being rude to Nightmare, trying to shoplift, acting like he owns the place- the normal stuff. He may have “lost a regular” but Ink and Nightmare started to bet on if he’d come back- Ink said he would, Nightmare said he wouldn’t.

A couple of hours later, Ink’s mind started wandering once again. To Error.

Nightmare noticed. It was pretty obvious.

“Are you thinking about the pretty boy?”

“Nnnno?”

“You are, aren’t you? You get that love-struck look in your eyes every time you think about someone you want to date.”

“I do not!”

“Do you _ever_ look at yourself in the mirror?”

“What kind of question is that?!”

“A normal one. I’ve asked you that three times this week. You said the same thing every time.”

“I did…?”

“Yes, and I’m now slowly realizing that I should stop asking you that question because someday the guilt is going to catch up with me for making fun of your memory.”

“Wow, you just realized that? Haven’t you been making fun of my memory this whole time, dick?”

“Okay, I’m sorry. Don’t call me names.”

Ink threw him hands in the air, giving Nightmare a soul-stealing glare.

Nightmare had the audacity to laugh.

 

Hours later, when Ink closed up shop, he started to walk home.

In a _freak coincidence,_ Ink, while looking at his phone, ran directly into the “good Christian boy”.

“Oh, um, sorry!”

Error shot Ink a glare before sighing and saying, “Whatever,” before walking in the direction he was going. Which, by some freak _coincidence,_ was the same direction Ink was going.

“Oh, are you going this way? I am too! Do you wanna walk together?”

_Smooth, Ink, very smooth. And very subtle._

Error couldn’t help but let out a sigh. He didn’t want to be rude to the poor guy, but he had to scare off Ink somehow.

He started to plan while Ink talked.

“So what brought you to this part of town? There’s probably much better places to set up a chr- a bookstore. Not even I get many customers.” Ink laughed, “I mean, if _my_ customers are rude, I can’t _imagine_ how your customers are.”

“Mhm.”

“You… don’t talk too much, do you?”

“I suppose.”

“That’s a shame. You have a really good voice.”

Error’s expression morphed into an unimpressed one. He’d picked up on what Ink was trying to do.

“I mean that as in- it’s a good voice! It’s melodic. I like it!”

“Thanks.”

Ink was on a tangent now and it wasn’t going to stop. “It suits you! Unlike me, your voice actually fits how you look and act! Stoic, kind of. Also, I like your eyes! They’re really cool!”

At the mention of his eyes, Error froze slightly. Ink didn’t notice and continued talking.

 

Error stopped in front of his apartment. Ink stopped too. They looked at each other.

Then, it clicked in both of their minds.

_Oh my god, they were neighbors!_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realized I forgot to mention this (I think) but Blue got the day off today! OH, also- the same word count again!


	4. Gay Silence, Cats, and Ink Meets a God.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The reveal processes, Error's cats are babies, and Ink meets a god.

It took Error longer than it did Ink.

“Wait, holy shit, do you live here too?!”

Error was silent.

“Oh god. You do.”

It _finally_ processed in Ink’s mind, too. The panic set in. The guy he liked- out of his league AND incredibly heterosexual- lived right next to him.

This was going to be a train wreck. An _absolute_ mess.

A bonfire of “fuck this shit I’m _out_ ” was going on in the vape shop owner’s mind. This was not going to go well.

Error was panicking.

A lot.

He left. He got inside, got to his apartment, and slammed the door without saying a word.

How did Error get _so_ unlucky? He thought he’d only have to deal with that heathen _sometimes_ after work, but now he had to deal with _it_ every _day_? Why hadn’t he seen him before?

Wait a second.

He had, hadn’t he?

On the day he first moved in, Ink had smiled at him. A small gesture. A _tiny_ act. So minuscule that Ink probably didn’t remember.

 

Ink didn’t. He couldn’t remember anything from that day.

Ink blinked. He stared at the door after Error went in. He processed for around a minute.

“Oh! This is my apartment complex too.”

He went into his apartment, humming under his breath. No particular tune held across-nor was it a very recognizable song- but it reminded him of his childhood. Perhaps it was something his fathers had sung when he was little.

Oh well, it didn’t exactly matter.

Ink collapsed on his couch after locking his door from the inside. He groaned loudly, covering his face.

“Damnit, why can’t I just avoid embarrassing myself in front of him? And why does _everyone_ I fall in love with have to be straight?! Or out of my league! Why is this one both?! And, on top of all that, he’s _Christian_.”

Ink slammed his head into the couch.

“God fucking damnit!”

Ink slid onto the floor, groaning again. He pulled his legs in and put his chin on them. He continued to think aloud, spilling his thoughts out.

 

Error was doing almost exactly the same thing. Except he was talking to his cats instead of to nobody. Fofo helped. He was purring loudly and rubbing his face against Error’s hand.

“Good kitty.”

Fofo purred louder. It felt like an earthquake against Error’s hand. Error smiled as the other two cats came around and checked up on their owner.

“Mrrow!”

“I know, I know, Fofo. You’re a good kitty.”

“Mrrrow!!”

Error laughed, gently picking up the cat.

“Are you a good boy?”

Fofo continued to meow. Error gave in to the begging cat and meowed back.

Error heard laughter from next door.

He scowled. His neighbors were probably laughing at him.

The cats started to meow again to get Error’s attention.

Error sighed, rubbing Fofo’s ears apologetically.

“I know, I know. Do you three need food?”

The cat’s meows rose to super-sonic levels of sound.

“Sh, be quiet.”

They got louder.

“Shh!”

They got even louder.

“Kitties, oh my lord…”

The three little creatures tried to push Error over to the food dish, trying to get _more_ food.

“I fed you this morning!”

The meowing got louder.

Error groaned, petting Fofo’s ears.

The cats jumped on top of him.

“Fine, fine! I’ll get your food. _Just_ dry food.”

The three shitty cryptids that were supposedly cats meowed still, but the volume was getting softer as Error _finally_ went over and filled the cats’ food bowls.

The meows continued until Error slept.

 

Ink, mostly unknowingly, was the one laughing.

He was talking to his dads again. Ink kept forgetting what he told them and retold them everything. Multiple times.

Aster and Gaster enjoyed each time he retold it.

Eventually, their time together ran out. His dads had to sleep, as did Ink.

“Goodnight you two!”

When Ink finished hanging up, he heard the deeper, melodic voice talking to the cats like they were children. It was… adorable. Ink couldn’t help but laugh- not at the image his mind brought him, but at the sheer fact that a lot of people had said that men weren’t supposed to like soft things, mostly when he was younger, and this _grown man_ with an _incredibly_ deep voice talking to his cats like they’re _babies._

It was _wonderful._

 

The next morning, Ink ended up going to his favorite coffee shop, leaving Nightmare- to Blue’s dismay- in charge. A small, local business, run by someone who’d been his friend for a while.

Dream.

The brother of his best employee.

He ran the coffee shop with his brother for a while. Then his brother left. Ink was still unclear about _why_ , exactly, but it didn’t really matter.

Dream greeted him when he came in.

“Hi Ink, the usual?”

“You know me too well, Dream.”

Dream had laughed as he prepared the drink.

Now, Ink sat at one of the tables, staring down at the coffee he’d usually be enjoying. He just _couldn’t_ get his mind off of Error.

Someone tapped his shoulder.

“Hey, stranger, mind if I sat here?”

Ink looked up. The man who said that looked rather strange. Well, abnormal in the sense of “this isn’t who I usually see around this area”. He was wearing a striped suit (ew) and a tie. He was wearing sunglasses and a backward baseball cap, covering dark hair. He had a fluffy, white dog- Pomeranian, maybe?- with pitch black eyes who almost seemed to smile.

“Oh, uh- sure! Go ahead.”

“Thanks.”

Ink couldn’t help but stare at the dog as the strange man waited for his coffee. It was cute, but also sort of… off. Almost like it knew something Ink didn’t. It hopped up onto Ink’s lap.

“Aw, hey little guy!” The vape shop owner quickly checked the little guy’s collar for his name. “Is your name Toby?”

The dog barked happily, panting with his tongue out. The stranger nodded.

“Yeah. Toby’s my dog. He’s a good one, no?”

“He is! He’s very sweet.”

The man’s eyes darkened a bit.

“He speaks wisdom many do not understand.”

Ink blinked, kind of concerned and confused. The man laughed.

“Well, that’s just what some say! Anyway, why do you look so sad?”

“What…?”

“Well, you’re sitting here, alone, staring into a drink. Even the young spot of sunshine over there looked concerned.” The man made a gesture over to Dream.

Ink was… bewildered, to say the least. This guy didn’t look any older than himself or Dream.

“Oh, well- I guess I’m just, well- it’s hard to put into words. I guess I could say I fell in love? But the person- guy who I’m in love with doesn’t like me back. He wouldn’t be able to. He’s straight, Christian, and has already shown clear disdain and hatred for… people like me.”

“Hm… that’s tough, bud.”

“Pfft, yeah. To say the least.”

“Well, why don’t you ask him to be friends, first? Get him to give you a chance, and then maybe- just maybe- you would be able to get close to him anyways. Judging from how you talk about him, he’s awful close to you, no? Physically, I mean. Neighbors, perhaps.”

Ink nodded, even more befuddled, unsure of _how_ the guy got it so spot on.

“Just get close to him. Even if he won’t date you, wouldn’t you value him as a friend?”

Ink nodded once again. “He seems like an amazing, wonderful person. I just want to get to know him more- he seems like he needs friends.”

The guy nodded.

Dream called out, finally, “Sans?”

“Ah, that’s me. I wish you luck on your relationship. Come on, Toby.”

The man got up, got his coffee, and stepped out, dog following closely behind.

It might have been his imagination, but Ink could have sworn he saw the man disappear into thin air.

“A man named Sans with a dog also named Toby? What a weird guy…”

Ink finished off his drink, letting Sans’s words sit, along with the thought of “ _did I just meet another god?”_ swim around in his head.

When he finished, Ink wove goodbye to Dream and went off to check on Nightmare and Blue.

Hopefully, they hadn’t burned the shop down.


	5. Dream Gets A Love Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream, a highly underdeveloped character, gets a love story. Meanwhile, Ink saves a cat.

Luckily, they _hadn’t_ burnt the shop down!

But, they were gone.

“Blue? Nightmare? Are you in here?”

Blue popped out from nowhere. Ink shrieked.

Blue laughed as Nightmare went back to sitting at the counter. He pointed at Blue.

“Listen, _that_ was all _him._ ”

“Nightmare, you liar!!”

“Oh my god, I hate you both.”

“Thanks, Ink.”

“Love you too, Ink!”

 

After the day, when they were finishing up, Ink tried to casually bring up what he had been told that morning.  
“Hey, would you two want to hang out soon? I was thinking of inviting, uh, what’s his name…?”

“Error?”

“Yes! Error.”

“Sure, why not,” Nightmare shrugged, “mind if I invite Dream, too? He’s been kinda lonely.”

“Of course, go ahead!”

Nightmare gave a thumbs up as he left.

Blue nodded. “I’d love to hang out! But are you sure you want to invite Error?”

“Well, I may sound insane, but yes! I feel like he should give me another chance.”

“…There’s something more to this, isn’t there.”

Ink flinched and inhaled through his teeth. “Yes.”

“What is it, besides the fact you like him?”

“He lives right next to me. And I think he has cats.”

“Ink, oh my _god,_ ” Blue laughed, putting his face in his hands.

“I just, you know, think it would be a good idea to get to know my neighbor, right?”

“ _Ink._ ”

“I’m right!”

Blue sighed.  
“Fine. I just want a chance to get him to change his mind about me!”

“If you’re _sure_ you’re not gonna fuck this up, fine! But if he _moves_ because of this, don’t cry about it.”

“I promise I won’t fuck it up! It’ll go okay, and I’ll get to know my neighbor!”

 

Dream was picking up a couple things from customers. A couple cups were left out here and there, but it wasn’t much work.

The door chimed as someone stepped in.

“Oh, hello! Give me a second, and I’ll be right with you!”

He couldn’t see the person that stepped in. The cups were stacked too high. He bumped into the someone who stepped in.

The cups and plates went flying.

Dream caught a few, but missed a lot of them.

Luckily, the man who had just walked in caught almost all of the ones Dream missed. He, however, also missed a few.

“Oh, goodness, I’m so sorry, sir, I wasn’t looking where I was going!”

“No, it’s my fault, I was distracted.”

Dream looked up. The guy he bumped into smiled a rather intimidating smile. He had snow-white hair and dark eyes. He was wearing black and white, and looked rather professional in his, as Ink would say, “Good Christian Boy” outfit.

Dream realized he was staring. The guy was offering him the dishes he caught.

“You need these, right?”

“Oh, uh, of course!”

Dream took the plates back. The man went away for a moment, deciding what he wanted.

Dream caught himself staring quite a bit. He scolded himself each time he did.

The man went up to the counter.

“Oh- Hello! How may I help you?”

“Hi, can I uh,” he looked rather embarrassed, clearing his throat before continuing, “get a small hot chocolate?”

Dream smiled. He loved seeing people getting things (even if embarrassed) that made them happy.

“Of course! For here or to go?”

“To go.”

“Okay, can I get a name for that?”

“Yeah, it’s Cross.”

Dream nodded, telling him how long it would take. He went off to make the hot chocolate, thinking.

When Cross came up to get his drink, Dream finally noticed the dog that was with him.

It was a Cavoodle puppy. The little black and white dog seemed to glare at people. Dream beamed at him, loving how cute he was.

“Aw!! Your dog’s so cute! What’s his name?”

Cross looked amused, probably unused to people reacting to his dog like that, due to how he glared at people.

“His name’s Chara. He’s a little older than a year.”

“He’s adorable!”

Cross nodded, smiling genuinely. His scary smile was gone.

“Indeed he is!”

Dream leaned over the counter, beaming. He pet the dog’s ears as it tried to hop up onto the counter.

“Hey little guy!”

The newcomer stared at Dream, kind of surprised.

Dream noticed.

“Oh, what’s that look for?”

“It’s nothing, just… Chara usually doesn’t like people.”

“Pfft, maybe he can smell these?” Dream pulled a dog biscuit out of the pocket of his apron. He offered it to the dog.

Chara took it and barked happily, seeming to mirror Dream’s expression.

Cross was amazed. People usually didn’t connect to Chara that fast.

Dream, while gazing up at Cross, noted the pin on his vest with a little rainbow. It was subtle but effective.

“What brings you over here, by the way?”

Cross blinked, being brought back to reality.

“Oh, uh, there’s a job offer close to here. I was gonna go check it out. Plus, the area around here looks pretty interesting.”

“A job offer? Is it around here?”

Cross nodded.

“Nice! I hope you enjoy your hot chocolate! Since it’s around here, you should come back sometime!”

Cross left, waving goodbye.

 

Ink stood in front of Error’s door. He was trying to muster up the courage to ask him to hang out.

Before Ink could turn back to his apartment out of fear, the door opened.

Error blinked. Ink blinked.

Before either of them could say anything, Fofo ran out the door.

“Crap, no, Fofo! Get back here!”

Ink’s instincts kicked in. He ran after the cat.

Fofo stopped right in front of Ink’s door, about three steps away. Ink scooped him up.

He realized what he did as he was petting the cat’s ears.

“Oh, uh, s-sorry, this is your cat, right?”

“Yeah, uh… thanks for catching him.”

Ink remembered why he was in front of Error’s apartment in the first place.

“Oh, by the way!” Ink smiled, handing over the cat, who was now purring and looking quite smug, “would you want to come over sometime soon? I feel bad about the way we first met, and my friends are coming over soon, so would you want to join us?”

Error, without thinking, spoke, “Sure.”

His answer surprised both himself and Ink.

“Really? Cool! I’ll tell you when we’re planning it!”

Error nodded, going back to his flat.

Ink grinned. He went back to his own flat, sort of in a state of euphoria. He collapsed on his couch, texting his dad.

_I did it!_

**_What did you do_ **

_Ok, tone :/ and I invited the christian boy over!_

**_oh no_ **

_It’s gonna be fine, dad!_

**_Are you sure?_ **

_Yes! I just want to make more friends!_

**_Okay, fine, whatever. We support you._ **

****_:D!_

 

Ink told Nightmare and Blue the next morning. They were just as excited concerned as Ink’s parents were.

“I’m not so sure about this. I mean, you _actually_ asked him?!”

“Yep! I asked him!”

“And it _wasn’t_ a threat?”

“Blue!!”

“I’m just saying, Ink, you tend to threaten people a lot.”

“I do _not_ do such a thing!”

Nightmare snorted, “I can name three times in the past week that you’ve threatened me.”

“Shut up, Nightmare.”

Nightmare burst out into laughter.

“Both of you get back to work and stop making fun of me!!”

Through the rest of the day, Ink got made fun of. They didn’t stop.

 

While Ink was yelling at his friends for being mean, the man Dream had suddenly started crushing on showed up at Error’s bookstore.

The bell chimed. Error looked up.

“Ah, hello.”

“Hi, I’m here about the job offer?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if there's any typos or anything, my Grammarly isn't working on the main thing for whatever reason D:


	6. Ink and Error Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They have a heart-to-heart.

Days passed. Ink was still planning the get-together. He, in the past couple days, hadn’t managed to talk to Error again. They walked back home once, but it was in silence.

They hadn’t said a word to each other since Ink asked him to hang out.

Ink kept spacing out at the shop. Blue and Nightmare had put him in the corner to let him space out a couple of times.

He still had to snap back to reality a couple of times to deal with a couple of customers. One of them was a kid who was demanding he should be able to buy something. Ink had to pull him outside and tell him why he wasn’t supposed to sell him products like that.

Plus, even if, legally, Ink was able to, he had standards. He wouldn’t let kids buy things like that. He just _couldn’t,_ morally. His dads would kill him.

On Sunday, the day Error’s store was closed, Ink bumped into him.

“Oh, hi!”

Error had waved a bit.

Ink got to see him smile a tiny bit.

Ink fell deeper into love.

 

Somehow, later, Ink and Error were sitting in the cat-filled apartment. Fofo, the one Ink had to be reminded that he saved, was sitting on his lap, purring. They were talking a bit, which Ink sorta found surprising. What was with the sudden change of heart?

Ink realized something.

“Oh- You’re closed on Sundays, right? That’s why you’re home?”

Error nodded, looking kinda sheepish.

“It, uh, wasn’t exactly my idea.”

“Oh?”

“My brothers wanted me to close on Sundays.”

Ink’s eyes widened. Then, they glittered. He got curious, and with his curiosity came excitement.

“You have siblings?!”

“Yeah, they’re… odd.”

“What’re their names?”

“Uh- Fresh and Geno. Geno raised Fresh and I.”

“Oh, really?”

“On his own, yeah.”

“Wow, really? That’s impressive!”

“You seem way too interested in my brothers-“

“Oh, do I? Sorry-“ Ink wove his hand-“ “I’m an only child, but I’ve always wanted a sibling.”

Error had to stifle a laugh.

“Hey, wait, I heard that! Why’d you laugh?”

“Siblings aren’t the best sometimes.”

“Really?”

“Well, yeah. They’re mean sometimes.”

“Huh.”

“Well, a lot of the time they’re mean.”

The pair went silent for a couple of moments. Ink decided to bring up the question that had been nagging him since he was invited into Error’s apartment.

“So, uh, by the way, why’d you invite me in?”

“What?”

“Well, I mean,” Ink stopped petting Fofo to start using his hands to talk, continuing, “people of your… religion, I guess, tend to not like me. Your store has been bought about three times in the span of how long I’ve been running my own, and two out of three of them were, you know, like yours. Both of the shop owners had hated me. You seemed to too. Why the change in heart?”

Error blinked. He had to stop and think for a minute.

“I hired someone.”

“Oh, already? That’s good! Do you wanna invite him, too? But why’d that change your mind?”

“Yeah, I guess. And, um,” Error got a little flustered, stuttering, “he’s sorta teaching me it’s okay to be different?”

“Really?” Ink raised an eyebrow, noting the way he spoke- typical wording of someone so religious, but also the tone of someone who really did want to change his mind.

“Yeah. He’s, uh, proving what I was taught wrong.”

The gears in Ink’s mind turned. He processed. He connected the dots.

“Oh! He’s a gay Christian, right?”

“Wait, how did you…?”

Ink shrugged, smiling, “I’m pretty good at reading people, sometimes. Plus, I’ve had experience with these things. Before I got adopted, my, uh, what’s the word?”

“Orphanage?”

“Yes, that- one of the people who volunteered there was a _really_ conservative Christian lady at first. She, as I knew her, got curious about people like me and I’m pretty sure she’s married to a girl now. Still Christian, I think.”

“Huh.”

“Yeah! I think it’s interesting, watching people change their minds. Makes me kinda sad, though. Especially with how hard a lot of people take other’s identities.”

“How is it sad?”

Ink shrugged.

“I dunno about the first part, but the second part really does make me sad. Why does it matter so much about how other people identify? I saw one of my best friends almost get beat up just because he’s not interested in having a relationship with anyone at that. That’s uh, kinda the main reason I got him to work with me. I gotta protect him somehow, right?”

Error shrugged after thinking for a moment.

“I guess.”

“Plus, he had gotten into a fight with his brother, so he wanted to get out of the coffee shop his brother runs.”

Error nodded.

“Do you wanna change the topic now? Even your cats can tell that you’re uncomfortable.”

“Hey, wait a minute, cats are more empathetic than people take them for!”

“Really?”

“Of course! They may not show it, but they really do! No matter where you are in the house, they’ll always come in with you. They’ll come in and make sure you’re okay!”

Error got really passionate about the topic Ink had switched to. Ink did what Error had done for him and paid attention.

He rambled for a while, proclaiming his love for the little creatures. His eyes sparkled and his smile shone.

Ink was staring the entire time, smiling. With every second, he fell more and more in love.

Ink slipped up when he was about to leave. When he was at the door, he smiled back at Error.

“You’re really cute when you ramble about cats.”

Ink had left before he realized what he said.

It took Error a moment to process, too. When he _did_ manage to process it, he crashed.

 

Ink was lying on his bed the next morning, trying to remember what exactly happened.

He remembered that Error had agreed to invite his new hire, and he remembered they’d decided to hold the get together on Saturday.

He also remembered, very vividly, that he told Error he was cute.

He slammed a pillow over his head, groaning.

“Damnit, Ink! Why do you have to spew every stupid thought you have?!”

Ink checked his phone. There was a notification from both of his parents, one of them being very concerned and the other being very loving and supportive.

He smiled.

Everything was going to be okay.

 

The day went fine. He told Nightmare and Blue what he said to Error. They both laughed at him.

Everything was fine. Ink managed to not bump into Error.

The same thing happened for the rest of the week. He didn’t bump into Error, the days went by fine. Everything was fine.

Before Ink knew it, he was fixing things up for the get-together. He was excited, nervous, and a whole bunch of other emotions. He was scared.

 

While all this was happening for Ink, Dream was also slowly falling in love. Or, rather quickly.

Cross came in every day. At the same time. Dream started noticing the pattern and started making his hot chocolate right before he came.

Honestly, it was mostly an excuse to talk on both of the boys’ parts.

They grew closer.

Eventually, Dream worked up the courage to ask Cross on a date.

He accepted.

Next Sunday, they’d go on a date.

Neither knew that the other was going to Ink’s get together.

Neither knew what they were going to do on the day before the date.

 


	7. The Get-Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ink panics, Error panics, and everyone panics. Then, the get-together happens.

_Error looked into Ink’s delicate, caring eyes. They were lying on the bed, smiling at each other. Ink was holding Error’s face in his hands. Ink’s hands were soft. Error laid across Ink’s soft lap. Lights lit Ink from behind. It made him look like an angel._

_“You’re stunning.”_

_That made him smile his cute little smile. He looked even_ more _ethereal. Error’s face flushed as Ink spoke._

_“Your eyes are pretty.”_

_“Your hands are soft.”_

_At that, Ink stoked Error’s cheek with his thumb. He was still cheerful. Error was head over heels._

_“You hair is softer.”_

_“Your tattoos are pretty.”_

_“Hey! I already used that adjective!!”_

_“Too bad. It describes_ **_you_ ** _better.”_

_“Oh, come on!”_

_“Haha.”_

_Ink pulled Error’s face closer, still delighted. His eyes sparkled like stars. Error’s eyes drifted to the intricate, alluring loops and whorls of dark ink on his neck, studying each twist._

_“Hey, I see your eyes drifting!”_

_“I can’t help it, your tattoos are too pretty.”_

_Ink tugged Error closer and let his lips graze the other’s cheek. Error colored, feeling Ink’s delicate, soft lips._

_“I love you, you nerd.”_

_“I love you too.”_

_Ink’s lips hovered near Error’s. Their lips were about to meet. Then…_

 

Error woke with a start. He was flustered. He looked around, then sighed, trying to regain his composure.

“A dream. Obviously. Just a dream.”

He tried to think straight. He couldn’t.

Just a dream.

He took a couple of deep breaths. What was he thinking? He couldn’t think that about _anyone,_ much less _Ink._

What did he have to do today? Oh, right, the party thing.

Did he have to go?

Actually, he _did_ have to go. He invited Cross, so he couldn’t let Cross go alone. Maybe he could leave him alone.

Error groaned and placed a pillow over his head.

“Why’d I have to agree to go?”

 

Ink was having a similar time. He was rushing around his apartment, trying to get everything ready.

“Why’d I have to invite him?!”

He started pacing.

“I _could_ cancel- no, no. I can’t let Blue down. I could uninvite Error! No, he’ll notice that I have people over.”

He flopped on the couch, groaning.

“Damnit!”

 

At work, Ink was distracted all day.

“Are you regretting your choice now, Ink?”

“Shut up, Nightmare.”

“Nope! You need to _feel_ the regret.”

“Shut up!!”

“Ink, are you sure you want to go through with this?”

“Yes! I have to get through to him, Blue!”

“Okay, fine. But! We warned you.”

“You say that like it’s gonna end up badly.”

Ink’s employees exchanged looks. They looked back at Ink.

“It is!”

Ink groaned again.

 

Cross, on his lunch break, walked over to Dream’s coffee shop again. He had his hand on the door handle.

_Should I even go in?_

Cross thought again.

_Fuck it._

Cross went in.

Dream smiled a cute smile and waved.

“Hi again, Cross!”

Cross wove back.

“Hello.”

“Your usual, right?”

Cross nodded.

“Gotcha!”

Dream prepped his drink and handed it to him, smiling through the whole process. Cross watched with interest.

Dream smiled.

“I’m looking forward to tomorrow, Cross!”

Cross blushed and nodded, looking away. He tried to hide the blush.

“Well, uh, see you tomorrow!”

“Yeah. Bye.”

 

The night was about to happen. Nightmare had walked to Ink’s house with him. He was gonna help set up.

Ink was pacing. Again.

“Will you _please_ stop pacing?!”

“No.”

“Sorry, lemme rephrase that,” Nightmare cleared his throat, continuing, “Ink, if you don’t stop pacing _right_ this second I’m going to throw you onto the couch and not let you get up until someone else gets here.”

“Fine.”

Ink stopped pacing and flopped down on the couch.

“It’s not a big deal, you know. It’s not like you’ll be embarrassing yourself in front of the guy who you have a _huge_ crush on. In fact, the _biggest_ crush you’ve had for the longest time.”

Ink groaned and threw a pillow at Nightmare.

“Shut up!”

Nightmare laughed.

“Nightmare!!”

“Ok, fine, I’ll stop making fun of you and actually help.”

“Thank you.”

“What do you need? Snacks? Drinks?”

“Yyyyes.”

“Yes to what?!”

“Snacks.”

“Okay, cool, what do you need help with?”

“Uh can you help me check if I have any? Cause if I don’t, I’ll have to go get some. The shop I like isn’t that far away.”

“…Have you been vaping? You seem high. Plus, you seem to like that stu- _new_ rainbow one.”

“I have not been vaping.”

“Are you _sure_?”

“Yyyes. Ninety percent.”

Nightmare gave Ink a look.

“Okay. Eighty.”

Nightmare raised an eyebrow.

“Fine! You caught me! Fifty percent.”

“Okay. That means you most likely _did_ vape. Whatever. Get off the couch, I have to help you not fuck up the _entire_ ‘relationship’ you have with the guy you like.”

“Thank you!”

“Get up.”

Ink groaned and slid onto the floor.

“I can and will fuck this up for you.”

“Fine.”

Ink got up. Well, sat up. Nightmare walked over and knelt next to him.

“Really?”

Ink stuck his tongue out.

“Do you _want_ me to call Blue to get you to not be rude?”

“Fine.”

Ink got up completely. He walked over to Nightmare.

“Okay, cool. You done? You gotta help me with this.”

Ink groaned and rubbed his temples.

“I think… Dream’s vegetarian, right?”

“Yep. And Blue.”

“No meat, then.”

“What else?”

“Uh… is fruit sushi an option?”

“That sounds amazing. But do we have time?”

“I’ve made it in ten minutes. Before my parents came over.”

“How did _that_ go?”

“Terribly! Why?”

“That’s my point.”

Ink blinked.

“What?”

“Oh my god, are you _trying_ to fuck this up?!”

“What do you mean?”

There was a knock on the door.

“Ink? It’s me, Dream! You home?”

Nightmare rolled his eyes.

“You should get that.”

“Oh! I should, yes.”

Ink went over and opened the door.

“Hi Dream! Come on in!”

“Oh, okay?”

Dream and Nightmare’s eyes met for a second.

“Oh. Hi Nightmare.”

“Hello, brother.”

Dream’s smile faded.

“…Okay. Awkward. Dream, do you wanna help me and Nightmare prep snacks?”

“You’re both horrid cooks, so sure!”

“We aren’t cooking anything!”

“Cooking might be a good idea.”

“Ink, the last time _you_ tried to cook you caused two separate fires.”

“Was that really the last time I cooked? That’s why I got kicked out of my last apartment.”

“Oh my god.”

“Jesus Christ, Ink.”

“What?!”

“You need to take some cooking classes or SOMETHING.”

“I am _fine_ with my microwaveable ramen and rice, Dream!”

“Aren’t you an adult?!”

“I am! Microwave ramen is good!”

“I hate to agree with my brother, but he’s right. You should really learn how to cook _without_ starting a fire.”

“I’m good.”

“Ink, holy fuck, can you _please_ act like an adult?”

“I’m acting like an adult!”

“No, you’re not.”

“Can we get off the topic of both of you telling me I’m not acting like an adult and get to the part where you two help me make _something?”_

“Fine.”

 

In the end, they made some pretty good snacks. Ink, the second Dream turned on the stove, almost caused another fire.

Twice. He almost started a fire twice.

“Aren’t you _supposed_ to be good with smoke and very bad gases?”

“I barely vape, Dream!”

They made some fruity things, some salty things, etc, etc. The kitchen was almost filled.

“Nightmare? Dream?”

“Yeah?”

“I think we made too much.”

Nightmare buried his face into a pillow, laughing. Dream leaned on the counter.

“Yeah. I think we did.”

There was another knock on the door. Ink got up and let Blue in. He sat between Nightmare and Dream. Ink sat on the floor in front of Blue. They had a system in place.

“Do you guys wanna play jackbox? Monopoly, maybe?”

“Ink, do you really think Monopoly is a good idea?!”

“Okay, fair point.”

“Also, every time I have _ever_ played jackbox with _you_ specifically, Ink, it ALWAYS turns to communism. What is _with_ the fucking _communism obsession,_ Ink?!” Nightmare threw up his hands in frustration while Ink laughed.

“Another fair point!”

While the four were trying to decide what to do, there was another knock on the door.

“Oh- shit, uh- I think that’s either Error or… whatever his new hire is. Whoever? Wait that doesn’t make sense. Let me think.”

“Ink, how are you already acting drunk without even touching _any_ alcohol?”

“It’s my special skill!”

“Okay. Sure. Whatever. Okay, who, of all four of us, would make the best impression besides Ink? Dream I say you go.”

“Okay! That’s no problem! I’m interested in meeting the two, anyway!”

There was another knock at the door.

 

Behind the door, Error and cross were talking.

“Do we really have to do this?”

Cross shrugged.

“I dunno, Error, we _could_ run.”

“I’m pretty sure I want to.”

“Ink knows where you live.”

“Dam- darn it.”

“Yep! So we shouldn’t run.”

“You’re right.”

 

“Go!”

Dream got up, rushing to open up.

“Sorry!! I’m coming!!”

Dream opened the door.

Cross stared back.

Both of their faces flushed.

“Oh. Hi, Dream…”

“Hi, Cross! I didn’t, uh, know you were coming, too.”

“I didn’t know, either. It’s nice to see you again…”

Ink, who had taken Dream’s spot, looked over Blue and Nightmare’s shoulders.

“Yo, Dream, is it them?”

“Oh- yeah! Come on in!”

Cross walked in, and Error, very hesitantly (and partially forced by Cross) wandered in behind him.

As soon as Ink saw him, his face lit up.

“Hi, Error!”

Error smiled slightly and waved at Ink, who hopped up and walked over. He _almost_ opened his arms for a hug, but thought twice and held his hand out for a handshake. His smile never wavered.

“I’m happy you made it!”

“Uh, thank you.”

Error shook Ink’s hand.

For a moment, it felt like they were alone in the universe. Ink smiled at Error.

He looked away.

Ink let go of his hand.

“Well, uh, anyways, welcome!”

Ink brushed his hair behind his ear.

“Thanks for coming, you two!”

 

Nightmare saw how Cross and Dream were looking at each other and hated it. He hated the introductions, too.

“Gross, romance. Hey, Ink?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you have any vodka?”

“I do not know. Probably.”

“Great! Cool! I hate romance. And my brother. And both of those things are currently happening. Can I have some?”

“I’m not sure if that’s the best idea!”

“Come on, please, Ink, don’t make me suffer!”

“Okay, crazy, let’s sit you down. Blue, can you make sure Nightmare doesn’t kill anyone, including himself?”

“Gotcha.”

Nightmare spent a little whining.

Ink ended up finding his playing cards. That was the best thing he could think of, so that’s what they did.

Ink sat between Nightmare and Error, Blue between Nightmare and Dream, and Cross between Error and Dream.

So, obviously, the most awkward way they could sit.

“Ink, please, can I just have a LITTLE?” Nightmare had whispered to Ink, desperately.

“Nightmare, if I let you have alcohol, do you _promise_ you won’t crash on my couch?”

“Yes. I promise. Please.”

“Fine. Anyone else want anything _before_ it’s too late?”

Nobody said anything, so Ink got out of his chair.

Or, he tried, at least.

He fell.

Error caught his arm.

The two looked at each other as the world around them froze.

Ink blinked. Error blinked.

They stared at each other for a solid thirty seconds.

The others stared at them too. Everyone but Nightmare looked like they were feeling _some_ positive emotion. Nightmare just looked done.

The two both blushed and looked away.

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine, really! I should’ve been more careful getting out of my chair!”

They met eyes and looked away again.

Dream aw’d and Ink shot a glare at him.

“Anyway, uh, I’ll go get that drink.”

“It’s fine, Ink, I’ll go get it myself. It’s the top shelf, right?”

“Can’t reach that one. 3rd shelf in the cabinet, but I’ll get it!”

“Nope, it’s your turn. Go play your turn.”

“I’m already up! And it’s not my turn!!”

“Ink, please.”

“Nope, too late.”

Nightmare groaned.

Ink came back with Nightmare’s drink and slid it over to him.

“You are _way_ too good at that.”

“It’s not bad to be good at sliding drinks!”

“I’m not talking about the sliding drinks part, Ink.”

“What part could you _possibly_ be talking about?!”

Nightmare took a sip of his drink and almost choked.

“Je- geez, Ink, what’s _in_ this?!”

“Hey! My dads gave that to me for my birthday! Don’t insult it!”

“Do you have _tastebuds_?!”

“Watch it, Nightmare!”

The two newcomers watched in awkward silence as the two friends argued back and forth.

Blue was giggling and Dream had his face in his hands.

 

Overall, the night wasn’t a complete disaster. It was normal. For a get-together with Ink, anyway.

Let’s go over some of the big points, shall we?

Halfway through, on Nightmare’s… second? Third? drink, Nightmare got mad. He didn’t know why, but he got mad. _This_ was the first big point.

He pulled Cross out of the apartment and yelled at him.

“Listen here, X, Cross, whatever the fuck your name is, I can _tell_ you’re interested in my little brother! You better fucking watch it, okay?!”

“W-what?! You don’t want me to date Dream?”

“I don’t _care_ if you date him! It doesn’t matter to me, okay?!”

“Then, why…?”

“I don’t care if you date him. But if you _dare_ to break his heart, I’ll put beside _any_ differences I have with him so I can kick your ass!”

“Alright, alright! I don’t want to break his heart.”

“Promise me you won’t hurt him.”

“I promise!”

 

Nobody remembered exactly what happened for the _second_ big point, but there was one big thing they _did_ all remember:

Cross and Dream and kissed.

Nobody really remembered _why_. It was really just… spur of the moment.

 

The third and final big point was Nightmare crashing on Ink’s couch after everyone had left.

“Nightmare, you promised you wouldn’t do this.”

“Sorry…”

“It’s fine. I’m gonna laugh at you tomorrow. But! I will give you the day off.”

“Yayyy!”

“Jesus, you lightweight, _I’m_ not even drunk.”

“It’s because you’reee an alcoholic!”

“I am not! But I have good taste.”

“You really _don’t_.”

“I’m not letting you crash on my couch again if you say that again.”

“Haha.”

“I mean it, Nightmare.”

 


	8. Brotherly Bonding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We focus more on Nightmare, Cross, and Dream for a bit.

Nightmare rolled off the couch in his sleep. Ink walked over and nudged the poor guy with his foot.

“Hey, lightweight, wake up. If you’re _too_ hungover I _will_ make you drink raw fucking eggs whether you like it or not.”

“Noooooo…”

“You’re scheduled to work today, nerd. You shouldn’t have drunk so much. Plus, it’s gonna rain today. I don’t want you walking home in the rain while hungover.”

Nightmare groaned. He, as if he suddenly realized something, tried to sit up. He hit his head on Ink’s coffee table. While doing so, he yelled, “DREAM KIS- ow, fuck-“

“Nightmare, chill.”

“My fucking brother kissed that stupid fucking nerd guy.”

“I know. Calm down. You’re hungover.”

Nightmare sat up slowly, making sure to avoid hitting his head. He rubbed his temples.

“God. What the hell happened?”

“You got super drunk off of my alcohol, which, according to you, was ‘illegally whack-ass’.” Ink, while saying such words, held up the bottle.

“I said that?”

“Yep!”

“…How much alcohol content does that _have_?”

“Hey, my dads gave this to me! They wouldn’t give me alcohol with _that_ much in it! You’re just a lightweight.”

“I am _not_ a lightweight!”

“You are! Fuck’s sake, Nightmare, _I_ didn’t get drunk.”

“That’s because _you_ had someone to impress.”

“Well, you did, too?”

“I did _not._ I _refuse_ to believe you’ve said that.”

“You did!”

“ _Don’t._ ”

“Your brother’s worried about you, Nightmare. You two haven’t talked one on one for months. And don’t act like I didn’t see you threaten Cross.”

“Ink. Don’t.”

“Fine. At least visit him, alright?”

Nightmare looked down, unable to look his friend in the eye. Ink tried to smile, “Come on. Can you at least _try_ to visit him?”

“No promises.”

“Good enough for me. Just… try, alright? He really cares about you.”

“I know, Ink.”

Ink sighed, fine with whatever the hell was going through his employee’s mind, “Okay. What do you want for breakfast? Or do you want me to drag you to _your_ apartment?”

“I will cook.”

“Nope.”

“You don’t know _how_ to cook. Stop trying to pretend like you do.”

“Fine. You can teach me!”

“… _How_ do you own a business?”

“I’m an adult, Nightmare! I’m allowed to do whatever I want.”

“Except murder.”

“ _Including_ murder!”

“Ink, no!”

“Ink, yes!”

 

Eventually, Nightmare and Ink got to work. Ink managed to not burn everything, though he did burn a towel. Somehow. Nightmare borrowed some clothes from Ink, the darkest ones he had, and made sure not to look like a total mess.

“Morning you two! You’re both late!”

Nightmare, very dramatically, threw his arms around Blue, because of course he did.

“Wow. Hi, Nightmare!”

“Blueeee, can you euthanize meeee?”

“Nope! Sorry!”

“Legally, Nightmare, neither you or Blue are allowed to kill each other.”

“What the fuck, Ink?! You said this morning that _you’re_ allowed to murder!”

“I know! _I’m_ allowed to murder, but you two can’t kill each other. Anyone else I’m okay with.”

“What the _fuck_ is your moral compass?”

“I have no clue! Get the fuck in the store! It’s about to rain!”

 

Cross practically bust in the store the next morning.

“Oh my goodness _gracious Error what in the heavens did I do_ ”

Error sighed, putting down his book. He stared at Cross, not really impressed.

“Dunno. What _did_ you do, Cross?”

Cross, just as dramatically as Nightmare throwing his arms around Blue, tossed his arms on the counter and melted onto the floor, having his arms fall next to his body. He wailed in despair, trying to express negative emotions that didn’t exist. Error just rolled his eyes and went back to his book.

“I kissed him, Error!”

“I was there. I know.”

“Why did I kiss him?! His brother’s gonna fucking _kill_ _me_.”

“I know.”

“I don’t know if he liked it!! What if he didn’t like it?? What if he doesn’t like me?! Error I think I fucked up.”

“I know.”

“I have a _date_ with him tonight!”

“I know.”

“I’m gonna mess this up so badly.”

“I know.”

“Error what am I supposed to do??”

“I do not care. You have a lunch break.”

Cross gasped, “You’re right!”

“I know.”

“Can I go now?”

“Nope. You have work to do. And you just got here.”

“What work?”

Error sighed and put his book down again. He pointed to one of the shelves. “You promised to organize that shelf, help me unbox those books-“ he pointed at a stack of books, then to the windows- “and also put posters up.”

“…oh. Right. I forgot about that.”

“How?”

Cross shrugged and did what he was told. Error helped.

 

Cross, on his lunch break, ran over to the coffee shop. He _had_ to apologize to Dream.

“Good morning, Cross!”

Dream, as usual, was smiley and sunny. He had on an oversized pale yellow sweater with little golden roses embroidered into it, reaching halfway down his thighs. Beneath that, he had on jeans with stars painted on. The stars matched the ones in his hair, which was pinned up in a messy bun. He waved gleefully, creasing his apron slightly.

“Morning, Dream. How are you?”

“I’m good! What about you?”

Cross shrugged, “Fine, I guess.”

“Your usual, I’m guessing?”

“Yeah.”

An awkward moment of silence passed between the two.

“Hey, uh, Dream?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry about last night. The kiss, I mean.”

Cross’s words hit Dream like a brick. Hadn’t he _also_ liked the kiss? Why did Cross feel the need to apologize? It wasn’t a _bad_ kiss, was it? Dream’s cheeks flushed, sort of out of frustration and anger. He, however, hid those negative emotions as he pushed his hair out of his face and managed a smile.

“Oh, uh, of… of course. It’s not a problem. Not a problem at all!”

Cross smiled slightly as Dream’s heart burned with rage and sadness. How could he be smiling when he just broke Dream’s heart? Why he couldn't he just kiss him again?!

“I’m, uh, glad to hear that! I hope it won’t mess up our relationship.”

“It won’t!”

_But maybe you apologizing for it will._

Cross took his drink from Dream and grinned, “Well, uh, see you tonight! I’ll meet you at the park at 6:00, right?”

“Right.”

“Great! See you then!”

 

A couple of moments after Cross left, Dream, on the verge of throwing a _huge_ fit, was greeted by his brother. Luckily or unluckily, he had decided to uphold the promise he had _allegedly_ made to Ink.

“Wow, Dream, you look pretty bad.”

“ _Thanks_ , Nightmare.”

Nightmare sighed, questioning why he was doing this in the first place. “Listen, Dream, I wanna talk.”

“Really? You do? Where was that idea so long ago?”

“You don’t have to be so mean about it, at least _I’m_ actually trying!”

“Maybe you should try _later._ I have a job to do, _on my own,_ because _somebody_ left me behind.”

“I didn’t _want_ to leave you behind, Dream. What other choice did I _have_?!”

“You could have talked to me!”

Nightmare’s eyes proceeded to light up, fade, and grow dark. Dream looked down guiltily.

“Dream, I’m… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left. I should have talked to you more. I’m so, so sorry that it ended up this way. You mean so much to me- you’re the only family I have left.”

Dream thought for a moment.

“You don’t have to say anything. I just wanted to apologize. Goodbye, I’m gonna go kill my boss!”

“Wait, Nightmare, don’t leave yet!”

Nightmare stopped right in front of the door. He sighed and glanced back to Dream, who was running towards him. He got caught in a hug.

“I’m sorry too.”

“Dream, you could have just asked for a hug!”

“But then-“ Dream pulled away- “you wouldn’t have agreed to it, and _I_ wouldn’t have been able to apologize!”

“But then I could’ve been able to run away properly.”

“Pish-posh! Nightmare, I want to fix what we both did. And you do too, right?”

“I guess.”

“Then let’s fix it! Let’s hang out more.”

Nightmare’s frown twisted into a small grin. “You mean it?”

“Absolutely. How about tonight?”

“Really? Didn’t you and Cross talk about how you were going to go on a date last night? I _vaguely_ remember that.” Nightmare remembered it in full detail. He even got Cross to tell him where they were meeting up.

“Oh, uh, yeah, no, he, uh… he canceled! Something came up, I guess.”

“ _Really_?”

“Yep! We rescheduled! For a different day!”

“You’re _sure?_ ”

“What’s with that tone? Of course I’m sure!”

“I _am_ your brother, Dream. I can tell when you’re mad about something. What’d he do and do I need to murder?”

“ _No_ murder! And he just… he just canceled. _Not_ a big deal. We’re rescheduling. I need to clean tonight anyway.”

Nightmare raised an eyebrow.

“It’s not your business anyway, Nighty!”

“Sure. Whatever.”

“Let’s just hang out, okay? I miss our weekly anime nights sometimes.”

“You do?! You said you hated them!!”

“True, I do hate a lot of the anime you choose, but it’s nice hanging out with you! I really liked when we dragged Ink and Blue into it. Plus, we never got past episode three of _my_ favorite anime!”

“Sailor Moon isn’t good.”

“How _dare_ you.”

“It’s just _not_ my taste of anime!”

“Sailor moon is _wonderful,_ you fucking _heathen_.”

Nightmare put his hands up in defeat as Dream pointed in his face. “Fine. Fine, I guess. Have your _wrong_ opinions about anime.”

“ _My_ wrong opinions about anime?! You think _mob psycho fucking 100_ is _garbage._ ”

“I don’t like it.”

“Is it because you’re very emotionally invested in the story and you don’t like admitting you have emotions other than ‘fuck off’?”

Nightmare, realizing he had been caught, caught his breath.

“no”

Dream laughed as Nightmare left the coffee shop. He wove, smiling, as usual. Nightmare popped back in, pointed at his brother, and shouted gleefully, “Madoka’s better!”

“Lies!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uh-oh looks like Dream's gonna be mean to Cross because he's salty and gay


	9. Brotherly bonding with knives. And also Ink breaking down but yknow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The twins bond over knives, Cross gets left in the rain, and then both Ink and Dream have breakdowns. So fun things!

_Swoosh!_

The knife whizzed past in the air, hitting the tree with a satisfying _thunk_. Dream’s arms went up in the air, cheering, “Woo! Ten points!”

“Aw, what? C’mon, Dream, that wasn’t worth ten points!”

“Hell yes it was!”

“That’s no fair!”

“Fine,” Dream laughed, tossing a knife to his twin, “if you think it isn’t, try doing the same throw!”

Nightmare, hushed, whispered, “fuckin’ bitchboy,” while trying to recreate the knife fling. The knife flew through the air, then… landed below Dream’s knife, sticking out of the bright green grass.

The shining twin laughed.

“Damnit!”

“Are you gonna claim beginner’s luck for me?”

“Yes, because you don’t know how to properly through a knife! You’re not even doing the right, uh, you’re not even handling it correctly!”

“Oh, please, we both know we went to the same forest- this one, in fact- to throw knives in high school. Ink went with _both_ of us.”

“Okay, yes, that’s a true fact.”

“So it’s not beginner’s luck!”

“I…” Nightmare rolled his eyes and groaned in frustration. “Fine. It wasn’t beginner’s luck.”

“So I _am_ a better knife thrower than you?”

“Absolutely not!”

“Really? Prove it, Nighty!”

“If you call me that again I’m disowning you.”

“If you don’t _let_ me call you that, I’ll cry to Ink and get you fired.”

“What?! But-“

“C’mon, please!! It’s a good nickname!”

“No, it’s really not-“

“Yes it is!”

Nightmare groaned in frustration, picking up another knife and hurling it at the tree. It landed above Dream’s. The pair were silent for a moment. Dream took a second to speak, “Damn.”

“I fucking told you.”

 

Cross sat at the bench, flowers, and dog in hand. He glanced up at the clock, then flicked on his phone to look at the time.

_He’s late._

His eyes flickered to the clock as his dog slowly curled up on his lap.

_Why’s he late?_

He fidgeted with his hands and the leash, getting more worried by the instant.

_Is he lost?_

Slowly, twinkling raindrops spilled from above. Cross’s mouth tightened.

_Is he hurt?_

The raindrops weren’t only coming from above. Cross’s expression contorted into a frown.

_Is he… standing me up?_

The train arrived. 7:56.

Dream wasn’t there.

_It’s been two hours. He could’ve- did he get kidnapped?! Why didn’t he call? Why don’t I just call him? Would that be rude?!_

Chara barked, licking Cross’s nose.

_He… probably just forgot, right?_

The bell rang at 8:00.

_Right. He forgot._

Cross stood up, putting his phone away. Chara jumped off his lap, starting off in the wrong direction.

“This way, Chara- to _our_ apartment. Not the coffee shop.”

 

Ink couldn’t sleep. He couldn’t stop thinking about the party. He stared up at the glow-in-the-dark stars he had above his bed, like any self-respecting adult would.

He tossed and turned, eventually throwing the blanket off of himself in frustration. His _favorite_ blanket. The one that didn’t even set off his ADHD or autism or… whatever he had that was undiagnosed.

He should go to a psychiatrist. Or therapist. Both! He needs help. Would meds help?

God, he was doing the thing again.

“Stop doing the thing again.” He scolded himself. “My neighbors probably think I’m insane. Oh, shit, Error’s my neighbor. Does he think I’m insane?”

He got out of bed, going to the kitchen. Maybe a glass of warm milk would help. Or vodka. Either would work. Maybe warm milk with ice in it. Would that work? Chocolate milk sounded good. Chocolate vodka? Boiling chocolate vodka? Wait, no, that’s disgusting.

God, he was doing the thing again.

Wait, he just said that. Why wouldn’t his brain stop?

He glanced at his phone, looking at the time, but his mind passed over it. He scrolled to his contacts, looking for “Dream”.

Damnit, why’d he have to change all his fucking contacts to stupid nicknames?! That’s literally “what not to do when you have a shitty memory” 101.

“Coffee bitch” was his best bet, right? He looked in the notes. It said “edgy himbo’s brother”. Damnit, Ink, why did you have to do that in one of your weekly crisises? crisi?? Who knows.

He pressed “call”.

_Ring… ring… ring…_

Dream picked up.

“Ink, what the fuck, it’s 3 am.”

“heysoyknowthatpersonyoutoldmetofind-“

“Okay, hold on,” he groaned. Ink heard fabric rustling. “Talk slowly. I just woke up. _You_ woke me up.”

“Okay, fine. Hey… so… you… know…”

“Not that slow, you fucking himbo.”

“Fine! You know that person you told me to see?”

“A therapist? A psychiatrist? A psychic? I’ve told you to see a lot of people.”

“Psychiatrist! Yes, do you have their number?”

“Yes. But they’re not open. You woke me up at 3 am for this??”

“Yep! Also, how’d your date go?!” Ink smirked a little, putting his hand on his hip, not realizing that Dream couldn’t see him.

“… _shit.”_

“D… Dream?” Ink’s expression went blank.

Dream had dropped his phone. He was frantically pulling on a jacket and shoes. He picked up his phone again, practically in tears.

“Holy shit, I- I’m sorry, Ink, I gotta go. Like. Now. Like _9 hours ago._ ”

“Oh my god- Dream, did you forget?!”

“I mean, I… I didn’t- Nightmare dragged me out into the forest- We threw knives, and-“

“Okay, Dream, honey, I can tell you’re frantically pulling on everything to go run to his house or something. He’s not gonna be where you were going to meet. It's raining. You're gonna get sick. Calm down. Do you need me to come over?”

“I… yes.”

“Okay, cool. Wait for a couple minutes. I’ll be over, and I’m going to kick your ass until you’re happy.”

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Overcurious](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19259104) by [AlJayne](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlJayne/pseuds/AlJayne)




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